Global Fuel Cell Market for CHP Applications 2016-2020

Wednesday 14 December 2016, Amsterdam

The report, now available on ASDReports, recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global fuel cell market for CHP applications: ACAL Energy, Bloom Energy, FuelCell Energy, and Viessmann.

Other prominent vendors in the market are: Aisin Seiki, Baxi (BDR Thermea), Ceres Power, Doosan Fuel Cell, Elcore, ENEOS Celltech (JX Nippon Oil & Energy), EnerFuel, Haldor Tops?e, HEXIS, Kyocera, Panasonic, SOLIDpower, Toshiba, and Vaillant.

Commenting on the report, an analyst said: “One of latest trends in the market is increase in R&D investments and activities. Companies are making huge investments in R&D in the fuel cell industry. Many universities and governmental organizations are engaged in research and demonstration projects of new technologies in the industry. For instance, the National Energy Foundation is working with New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in the UK on various fuel cell research projects. NEDO has 11 fuel cell projects involved in the development and validation of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) technology for small-scale systems, hydrogen technology, SOFC for large-scale systems, and infrastructure development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the US has a hydrogen and fuel cell research section that is dedicated to addressing the national issues of fuel cell technologies. It focuses on projects related to fuel cell technology validation, safety codes, standard analysis, and hydrogen production, delivery, and storage.”

According to the report, one of the primary drivers in the market is increasing demand for efficient and cleaner technologies. Thermal power plants produce excess heat, and this waste heat is usually released into the atmosphere through cooling towers and other means, which results in lower power generation efficiency. In the US, the efficiency of electricity generation has remained stagnant at about 35% since the 1960s, with the total amount of heat wasted in this process being more than Japan’s overall power generation. The growing demand for electricity and the consciousness toward using cleaner energy sources are driving the need for CHP, where the waste heat is captured to either produce heat for industries and businesses or to power turbines to generate more electricity.

Further, the report states that one major challenge in the market is competition from alternative technologies. FC-CHP is a highly competitive market with many manufacturers, both local and international, facing stiff competition from not only other fuel cell manufacturers but also from alternative technologies such as steam turbines, gas/micro turbines. These technologies have already established themselves, making it a challenge for FC-CHP to gain wider acceptance. For instance, gas turbines are in use as a CHP solution in a wide range of applications in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. However, fuel cell technology still lags behind in terms of adoption; this factor, together with the availability of other renewable technologies and the lead that conventional technologies have established owing to their availability in different size and power ranges, make it a challenge for vendors to establish a competitive fuel cell-based business.